Team Taylor Brings Fresh Veggies to Students with Weekend Food Security Program

On Friday January 27, Team Taylor kicked off the Weekend Food Security program, an initiative that delivers fresh Taylor Farms produce to 200 kids in after-school programs at Fairview Middle and La Gloria Elementary. Every Friday from now through June 2, (excluding three school observed holidays), these after-school programs will receive weekly produce donations including items like Taylor Farms chopped salad kits, stir fry kits, snack trays, and vegetable medley packages.

This particular program is part of the City of Gonzales’ initiative called The Gonzales Way – helping assist the town with its community health and wellness goals by providing the students and their families with wholesome, fresh food to supplement for weekend family meals.

“The ‘Weekend Food Security’ program idea came about as part of our commitment to frequent communication by city staff with local business leaders,” says René Mendez, Gonzales City Manager. “We are constantly looking for opportunities to collaborate with our business community.”

“It’s always a good day when we’re handing out healthy products to the kids. Last week, a few of the La Gloria kids called out to me, ‘Hey did you bring us vegetables again?’ I could see the recognition in some of the kids, they were waving at us,” says Chrissy Fink, ‎Office Manager at Taylor Farms Retail, and regular volunteer for this program. “At Fairview Middle School, when we pulled up, some of the older boys asked if they could help us unload. Before we knew it, we had quite a few kids helping us unload the truck. It was really great to see.”

Students helping unload donated product

Taylor Farms offers a similar food security program for our employees that work in the Gonzales processing plant. We are also excited to be a part of donating fresh produce to the twice-monthly Mobile Fresh distribution, a pilot program of the Second Harvest Food Bank in Tracy, CA.

“There are so many ways to get involved and make a positive impact in other people’s lives. The hope is that through these initiatives, we’re able to give people access to fresh, nutritious food and show them how to make the most of it. We want to use our time and variety of Taylor Farms products to help turn healthy habits into healthy lifestyles,” said Sam Chaidez, Director of Operations for Taylor Farms Gonzales.